As we speak, millions of gamers the world over are pouring into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s campaign in early access. It’s not hitting the shelves globally until November 10th, but for those who pre-ordered the game, the campaign has been unlocked a week early. However, there’s a sore spot that’s rankling among fans of the ever-popular first-person shooter. Despite costing $70, it appears that MW3 has the shortest campaign in the history of the franchise.

It’s a confirmation of sorts that Modern Warfare 3 was never ‘supposed to be’ a full game, and was originally intended to be released as an expansion to Modern Warfare 2 (2022). That’s a claim that started when all the carry-over content was revealed between games, but now that the campaign has been revealed to be so short, players are more convinced than ever before. This was never supposed to be a ‘full game’, and that’s represented by the drastically short campaign.

How Long Is Modern Warfare 3’s Campaign?

Image Credit: Activision

If you’re the kind of player who runs through levels and doesn’t stop to survey the scenery or collect any side objectives, then you’re in for a surprise. Including cutscenes, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will likely last you just 3.5 hours from start to finish. It’s averaging out that MW3’s campaign is just four hours in length — which would make it the shortest Call of Duty campaign ever made.

According to reports, it took Sledgehammer Games no time at all to make the campaign, and that’s glaringly obvious in the game’s length. From start to finish, the scattering of high-octane missions can be wrapped up in a single sitting with ease – even on a tougher difficulty rating. Each mission presents the player with a few choices and gives them the illusion of an open-ended approach model, but in reality, every goal can be achieved in the same way: ‘run and gun’.

Even if played slowly, you’re not going to get more than five hours or so out of Modern Warfare 3.

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But Does It Matter?

In this day and age, the majority of Call of Duty’s core community buys the annual release for the multiplayer offering. Millions of players won’t even touch the franchise, opting instead to enjoy the multiplayer and perhaps the Call of Duty Zombies modes. In the past, we’ve seen games released completely devoid of a campaign – so a short one isn’t the worst thing that could ever happen. For the most part, it’s a cinematic, hard-hitting mode, even if it’s rather short and a bit confusing with the brief timeline.

It has been claimed by some players that the duration of the campaign isn’t the problem. What’s more concerning is how forgettable it is — almost nothing of note happens, and despite a few scenes where Sledgehammer Games was pushing for shock value, nothing emotional or memorable ever really surfaces.

Modern Warfare 3 will be released globally on November 10th, and an entirely new wave of players will learn just how short the game is.

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